PICTURE BOOK - Karl, Get Out of the Garden: Carolus Linnaeus and the Naming of Everything by Anita Sanchez

Illustrated by Catherine Stock

2017, Charlesbridge

48 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.05 - 37 ratings

My rating:  4

Endpapers:  brown sketches of plants and animals on white

1^st line/s: "Karl Linne was in the garden again.  He just wouldn't stay out of it!"

My comments: 

This picture book, perfect for elementary age kids and a great introduction to classification in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade, is interesting and informative. I had no ideas that the classification system was created by a Swedish young man who had a love for flowers and became a college professor - in the early to mid 1700s. Fascinating! Excellent book. Includes an afterward, easy explanation of how the classification works, a timeline, and resource list.

Goodreads:  Do you know what a Solanum caule inermi herbaceo, foliis pinnatis incises, racemis simplicibus is?*
          Carolus (Karl) Linnaeus started off as a curious child who loved exploring the garden. Despite his intelligence--and his mother's scoldings--he was a poor student, preferring to be outdoors with his beloved plants and bugs. As he grew up, Karl's love of nature led him to take on a seemingly impossible task: to give a scientific name to every living thing on earth. The result was the Linnaean system--the basis for the classification system used by biologists around the world today. Backyard sciences are brought to life in beautiful color.
          Back matter includes more information about Linnaeus and scientific classification, a classification chart, a time line, source notes, resources for young readers, and a bibliography.